Boiled Chocolate & Beetroot Cake

When I lived in the UK I was addicted to the English (some would say superior) version of Masterchef. In particular I loved the judges (John Torode & Greg Wallace) who basically said the same thing over and over again, episode after episode (this seems to be a common Masterchef problem). For a synthesised version of their brilliance check out this YouTube clip.

Repetition in their food critique was hardly surprising as every second contestant seemed to be cooking them scallops with some sort of puree. Anyway, aside from overcooked scallops one of the things the judges were always upset by was contestants adding ingredients for shock value rather than their contribution to the dish. I remember one particular episode in which they were very displeased with a contestant who added beetroot to their chocolate brownie mix. Well John & Greg I think you are marvellous in so many ways but on this you were wrong. Beetroot does work with chocolate and in my view makes for a moister cake. Not only is this cake delicious and incredibly easy but it’s also lactose free. So there!

50g dark chocolate (check ingredients if you need the cake to be lactose free)

1 medium/large beetroot finely grated

Heat oven to 180 degrees C. Place all ingredients except flour, bicarb & eggs into a large saucepan. Bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Simmer 3 minutes. Allow to cool a bit and then add remaining ingredients. Mix together. Pour into a greased 20cm cake tin or patty pans if making cup cakes. Bake in a 180 degree Celcius oven for 50 minutes for large cake. Less if you are making cup cakes.

2 Responses to Boiled Chocolate & Beetroot Cake

Did you ever see Lloyd Grossman’s programmes, which were a bit like Masterchef? His pet hate was “irrelevant garnishes” – like the spring of mint on top of the lemon/ strawberry/ chocolate / whatever dessert.
Re the beetroot: I presume it is raw when you grate it? (which must be messy)

I think I saw the last series with him as host although I suspect it takes longer than that to get used to his voice. As I very hazily remember it, it was Masterchef without the pizzazz. Personally I quite like irrelevant garnishes provided they are edible…. Yes to the raw beetroot and yes to messy especially when I forget to put gloves on first….